Typically, vehicles, such as cars, trucks, vans, SUV's, tractor trailers, and buses, include a horn that can be engaged by the operator of the vehicle to produce audible warnings to the operators of other vehicles and to pedestrians. Horns work particularly well in rather quiet environments, such as country roadways, where the variety and intensity of sound is limited and relatively subdued. Busy city roads are another matter.
A typical conventional steering wheel for a vehicle is configured so that spokes extend radially from a boss which is secured to a steering shaft, and a steering wheel rim is secured to the respective distal ends of the spokes so that the driver grips the rim when steering the vehicle. The operator grasps the circumferential region of the steering wheel and spins the wheel to turn the vehicle.
Often, the operator of the vehicle is preoccupied with steering, watching for pedestrians, oncoming traffic, and other road conditions. This can leave the operator with insufficient time to remove the hands from the steering wheel and activate the horn, thereby posing an inherent safety risk to the driver, passengers of the vehicle, and other individuals. Also, due to the high level of noise outside the vehicle, horn signals are often hard to hear particularly by those with diminished hearing.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.